Rating: 
Summary: Maybe the BEST Book about Beatles Songs ever!
Review: "Tell Me Why" gives an in-depth portrait of the Beatles music, covering every song I know, including rarities! The best thing is, many of these "B" side tunes , and less known tunes, are often given equal time. Yes, we all know WHEN IM 64,SGT PEPPER,SHE LOVES YOU,HARD DAYS NITE, HELP, and all the big ones ones. How about I'LL GET YOU (Flip side of SHE LOVES YOU on Swan records), THINGS WE SAID TODAY,IM HAPPY JUST TO DANCE WITH YOU,from the original 1965 SOMETHING NEW. Or George's Mystical Side "B" of LADY MADONNA called THE INNER LIGHT, not to mention the slapdash YOU KNOW MY NAME,LOOK UP THE NUMBER. The list goes on and on, and you realize this foursome had by far the best songbook of the rock era, good enough to compare with some of the best of earlier tunesmiths like Cole Porter, and the Gershwin brothers. My only complaint..Mr Riley trashes the heavy orchestration one of my favorites, LONG AND WINDING ROAD. (Why is this great song so heavily criticized?) Anyway. a great book to read cover to cover, and to browse through at your leisure!
Rating:
Summary: Underrated-Not Afraid to Criticize AND Praise
Review: I can't speak to the accuracy of every detail in this book, but I found the commentary and analysis to be very informative and entertaining. Riley, unlike many authors who cover subjects of pop culture, isn't afraid to approach the music with a loving but critical eye. I really don't need to read another author fawning unconditionally over The Beatles. Riley doesn't present his interpretations as fact, and seems to respect his readers enough to give them the credit to know that these are his opinions. Some of his writing on the music is a bit technical, but that's hardly the focus of the book, and would certainly be useful to a musician or someone fluent in music theory. Likewise, his writing is sometimes a bit lofty and convoluted- this often reads as if it were an academic work. But it's far from unreadable, and offers an all-encompassing, song by song, sometimes lyric by lyric, analysis of The Beatles (plus a few of their solo works). The music obviously speaks for itself, but this is a fine supplement to help enhance our understanding of it. If nothing else, this is just the well-written opinions of another fan.
Rating:
Summary: Underrated-Not Afraid to Criticize AND Praise
Review: I can't speak to the accuracy of every detail in this book, but I found the commentary and analysis to be very informative and entertaining. Riley, unlike many authors who cover subjects of pop culture, isn't afraid to approach the music with a loving but critical eye. I really don't need to read another author fawning unconditionally over The Beatles. Riley doesn't present his interpretations as fact, and seems to respect his readers enough to give them the credit to know that these are his opinions. Some of his writing on the music is a bit technical, but that's hardly the focus of the book, and would certainly be useful to a musician or someone fluent in music theory. Likewise, his writing is sometimes a bit lofty and convoluted- this often reads as if it were an academic work. But it's far from unreadable, and offers an all-encompassing, song by song, sometimes lyric by lyric, analysis of The Beatles (plus a few of their solo works). The music obviously speaks for itself, but this is a fine supplement to help enhance our understanding of it. If nothing else, this is just the well-written opinions of another fan.
Rating:
Summary: A first-rate book: buy it!!!!
Review: I loved this book. Riley's a musicologist, and his comments on the songs you've always loved are insightful. Think you know a lot about, say, "If I Fell" or "We Can Work It Out" or "She Loves You"? Think again: it's amazing to hear these and other songs again after you've read what Riley has to say. But this is anything but a technical analysis. Riley writes beautifully; this is a book for a fan, and not only the specialist. I've started a new habit when being invited to someone's house for dinner: I no longer bring the wine, I bring Tell Me Why. Funny thing: I only got the most cursory thanks for the wine, but I get genuine words of appreciation for introducing my friends to Tell Me Why. You'll love it, too.
Rating: 
Summary: Works for what it is
Review: If you don't view this as some sort of last and final word and just read it as a fellow Beatle fan's thoughts on songs you yourself have heard over and over again, it is a good book, filled with an intelligent point of view of someone you realize is qualified to give his version for it.It's interesting and a good read, and it's not an unobjective as it first appeared. In the beginning, so much praise was heaped on Lennon, I thought this might be a book by a Lennon sycophant, but the praise stopped flowing as it did and went over to McCartney for awhile and then back again. That's when i knew the author did not really prefer one over the other. Actually, as a Lennon fan, I was bit irked over for what I thought was harsh words for "I am the Walrus" and proclaiming "Penny Lane" a masterpiece while reserving a lesser status for "Strawberry Fields," at one point saying it rode "Penny Lane's" coat-tails! But that's my own bias, and I realized it's certainly not the author's fault that he doesn't completely agree with me. In fact, he shouldn't, and I think alot of low scores for the book on this board are prompted by just that factor; people angry he doesn't agree with them! As for Harrison, he does seem harsh, but I'll tell you, I agree with him there. "Only a Northern Song," "I need you," and some others from George are BAD songs and it's time someone starting SAYING THAT. He's not supposed to be untouchable. Having said that, there seems to be alot of mistakes in this book that I noticed; and I should not be more informed about Beatle songs than someone who says they have done all this research writing a book on it. The author does not seem to realize that Paul wrote "Every Little Thing" becaue he says it is a Lennon psychodrama- no, it is a Paul psychodrama- Paul wrote it, John sings it- he also says Lennon wrote "Eight Days a Week," which was not true because it is a basically co-written song, with maybe even Paul writing most of it- but at the very least, it was 50/50. I also didn't like him stating Paul wrote the complete tune for "In My life," something Lennon always denied. On page 312, talking about Come together, "The album's opening moments sinks a muffled "Shook!" into the first downbeat...
Lennon is actually singing "Shoot me!" so just how close is he listening to these songs? But even taking all this in mind, it's a good book to read just to hear another fan's thoughts- look at it that way.
Rating:
Summary: Not Bad
Review: Interesting analysis and insights. Read while listening to the Fab Four: this is a hands-on book.
Rating: 
Summary: How serious can you get?
Review: Remember that famous review of "Not a Second Time" which mentioned "aeolian cadencies" and the like? Now imagine ALL Beatles songs analyzed in that sort of language! And each and every lyric - even the simple ones from their early years - scrutinized word by word? How much can you read into a lyric like "She Loves You"? I think not even the Beatles themselves took their music that seriously.
Rating:
Summary: It's About The Music
Review: Riley has given us a great gift - a way to listen to these familiar recordings with fresh ears. He sticks to the music itself (a real blessing) and opens up new points of insight and discussion about the Beatles as musicians (not pop icons or celebrities). As an example he convincingly makes the case that the often over-looked Ringo Starr is in fact one of the most musical drummers of the rock era. The technical side of the discussions are minimized although welcome to those with a little musical knowledge. You will not find a more thoughtful, intelligent and entertaining work about the Beatles' music.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, if overly technical.
Review: Riley offers an array of in-depth looks at Beatles (and post Beatles) music. Well written, although sometimes it is intelligible (I like to think that I know a bit about music, but his music theory had me stumped here and there). Although his review of Sgt. Pepper is well thought out and well written it does yield somewhat to the "popularity backlash" (ie claiming that the album is good but not that good, mostly a product of how talked about this album is). His interpretation of "A Day in the Life" is particularly eloquent. A good read.
Rating:
Summary: Underrated Analysis of Beatles Music
Review: Riley's survey of the Beatles albums and singles is one of the most enlightening books on the subject. As a survey of The Beatles' music, the book cannot be faulted for failing to dig into the musician's personal lives. Some critics of the book complain of the technical language, but unlike the journalist who praised the "aeolian cadences" in "Not A Second Time," Riley is aware that The Beatles were untutored, basically intuitive musicians. His language is that of a musically educated person, not that of a pompous intellectual critic (of music or books), and Riley clearly worked hard to keep the analysis from flying over the heads of his anticipated readership, though perhaps he shouldn't have bothered. A reader may disagree with Riley's judgments about some songs and albums, but the author never fails to justify his opinions, and usually he offers some new insight into these now-venerable recordings. Best of all, Riley doesn't buy into the popular myths about the more famous songs and albums, and he does approach each new topic as freshly as possible. This book and Mark Lewisohn's "Beatles Recording Sessions" are two of the finest volumes on Beatles music ever written.
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